An apparatus and method for passing suture in tissue repair and other surgical procedures. The apparatus includes a pair of jaws mounted on a distal end of a shaft, a handle assembly mounted on a proximal end of the shaft, and a needle mounted on the handle assembly and through a cannulation of the shaft. A suture is placed in a slot at the tip of the lower jaw. By advancing the needle relative to the body of the instrument, the needle is pushed forward to capture the suture and to pull it through the tissue to be sutured in a direction about parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
